Fund improves local health

Ruth Brinkley

From an appendectomy to cancer treatment, everyone deserves access to quality health care.

In this community, University of Louisville Hospital, part of KentuckyOne Health and staffed by clinical physician faculty from the U of L School of Medicine, provides a critical safety net for economically disadvantaged patients. It's a role we take very seriously and is a key part of KentuckyOne Health's mission to improve health care across the Commonwealth.

But we could not do it alone. Without partnerships, we could not handle the 47,000 indigent-care cases the skilled, talented and caring professionals at University of Louisville Hospital treat every year. That's why we were so grateful to learn of Mayor Greg Fischer's budget proposal for Louisville Metro Government's upcoming fiscal year.

It includes $7 million for the Quality and Charity Care Trust Fund (QCCT), which, along with about $23 million from the state, provides much of the funding for Louisville's health care safety net.

The trust was established in the 1970s after the closure of County Hospital, and local government set aside funds to help then-University Hospital provide much-needed care to patients who could otherwise not afford it. Mayor Fischer is continuing local government's long-standing commitment to this fragile population - and it's a vital piece of this community's health care system.

Last year alone, with funding provided through the QCCT, University Hospital was able to provide:

? 2,500 surgeries

? 11,000 CT scans

? 4,300 radiation treatments

? 5,000 EKGs (electrocardiograms)

? 2,500 medical oncology/bone marrow transplant treatments

But these are more than just numbers and procedures. These are Louisville citizens whose lives have been improved directly as a result of Metro Government's support of the QCCT. Without this funding, many citizens' health issues would go untreated, resulting in deteriorated conditions or, in some cases, unnecessary loss of life.

Furthermore, the mayor's commitment to the QCCT grows even more crucial as the federal government has proposed reducing its support to hospitals that serve a significantly disproportionate share of low-income patients by $500 million in the next fiscal year.

When KentuckyOne was formed and then entered into a partnership with the University of Louisville, our mission was built around bold goals to improve health care in Kentucky and an unwavering commitment to a core belief of providing medical care for all of Kentucky's citizens, regardless of their ability to pay.

The health challenges are steep in Louisville and Kentucky. Improving the health of our communities and breaking down barriers to access is a cornerstone of KentuckyOne. Collectively, we're doing more charity care than anyone in the state, and University of Louisville Hospital continues to provide more charity care than all the other Louisville hospitals combined.

Above all, KentuckyOne is contributing to improving health care outcomes for the Louisville community and Kentucky through a shared mission focused on teaching and academics, research and innovation, and charity care like that provided through the QCCT at University of Louisville Hospital.

There may be questions about the necessity of the QCCT under the Affordable Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid. The assumption is that everyone will have some form of health coverage. But the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates 45 percent of uninsured Louisville Metro residents will still lack insurance under full implementation.

While we support the expansion of Medicaid to give more people access to health care, we do not yet know how these changes will affect the need for indigent care funds. It may take several years for the nation to sort out the complexity of the Affordable Care Act, but at least in Louisville our vulnerable citizens can count on the QCCT to help.

We ask that as the members of the Louisville Metro Council carefully consider Mayor Fischer's budget proposal and support the funding for the QCCT. It will continue to build on the mayor's vision of Louisville as a city of compassion and will make our health care safety net even stronger.

RUTH W. BRINKLEY

President & CEO

KentuckyOne Health

JAMES R. RAMSEY

President

University of Louisville

Louisville 40202

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Fund improves local health

From an appendectomy to cancer treatment, everyone deserves access to quality health care. In this community, University of Louisville Hospital, part of KentuckyOne Health and staffed by clinical